Oil spill off Mumbai from sunken ship MT Rak

Third incident involving a ship off the coast of Mumbai





A cargo vessel which sunk off the Mumbai harbour Thursday has been leaking oil, an official said Sunday.

"Oil has been observed leaking from the sunken vessel Rak Carrier since late Saturday at an approximate rate of 1.5-2 tonnes per hour," a Coast Guard official said.

"Coast Guard ship Samudra Prahari on patrol immediately responded and used oil spill dispersant to neutralise the spilled oil. Operation 'Paryavaran Suraksha' has also been launched by the Coast Guard," he added.

According to the official, an aerial recce conducted Sunday morning indicated spread of oil up to seven nautical miles from the sunken vessel.

The Coast Guard has pressed another vessel, ICGS Sankalp, in the area, he added.

However, the coastal authorities have been advised to maintain strict vigil. "State authorities have also been advised to direct fishermen to refrain from fishing in the vicinity of the affected area," the official said.






The ship MT Rak Carrier, laden with 60,000 tonnes of coal and 340 tonnes of fuel and diesel, sank Thursday afternoon, raising apprehensions of an ecological hazard.

The 30 crewmen aboard -- all Indonesians, Jordanians and Romanians -- were rescued in a coordinated effort by the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.

The Panama-flagged ship, owned and managed by M/s. Delta Shipping Marine Services, Qatar, was on a voyage from Lubuk-Tutung, Indonesia to Dahej Port in Gujarat, carrying a consignment of coal meant for Adani Enterprises Ltd.

Two top officials of the cargo vessel were Saturday arrested and later released on bail by a Mumbai court.

The duo -- Jordanian Capt. Arkan Younis, 36, and Romanian chief engineer Eonascho Eon, 54 -- were nabbed under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 336, pertaining to endangering life or personal safety of others.

Maharashtra Government in readiness to tackle pollution

The Maharashtra government is prepared to tackle any pollution from the m.v. Rak Carrier which sank on Thursday about 20 nautical miles off Mumbai.

State Environment secretary Valsa Nair Singh said that the vessel was carrying coal which did not pose a pollution problem. The ship was on voyage from Indonesia to Port Dahej (Gujarat) carrying about 60, 054 Metric tonnes of Coal.

Threat posed

However, the vessel was reported to have about 290 tonnes of fuel oil and 50 tonnes of diesel oil which could pose a threat if the tanks raptures

This is the third incident involving a ship off the coast of Mumbai. While two ships found their way to the city's beaches, the m.v. Rak Carrier sank off its coast.

Last year, a major oil spill occurred when two Panamanian ships collided off the coast of Mumbai, leaving parts of its coast full of oil and ruining the mangroves

Once the ship has settled at the bottom of the sea, the salvors could pump out the oil.

Salvage operations
Salvage operations will be difficult to undertake due to the rough weather and tidal conditions because of the monsoons. This means, Mumbai will have to keep its fingers crossed, hoping the oil lead is kept at bay and the vessel stays intact.

Food chain

Last August, after MSC Chitra and MV Khalija collided off the Mumbai coast, the oil spill spread not just to the coast of Mumbai, but as far as Raigad and Elephanta, damaging the mangrove belt in and around Mumbai city, contaminating shores, and even threatening fishing activity.

"When the oil sinks, it enters into the food chain. The algae imbibe the oil and that may affect the entire marine ecology

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Breeding season


"It is quite close to the shoreline and there is not much distance separating the oil from the beaches and mangroves. Since this is the breeding season, this is the most vulnerable time of the year," said Debi Goenka, an environmentalist.

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Loss to Marine Life

On physical inspection, it has been revealed that there is furnace oil in the Juhu coast at specific locations. Lab analysis will ascertain the source of the oil. Any loss to marine life will be ascertained by the National Institute of Oceanography, as requested by the MPCB,” read a statement of state’s environment department.


Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation


The The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) says it has initiated the measures to clean up the area.

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(BMC) says it has initiated the measures to clean up the area.

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The BMC informed that the oil pollution at Juhu beach is mainly confined to a stretch of 750 metres, which usually occurs during high tide.

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HIKE IN GPF/DSOP RATES ON CARDS

Hike rate of return on GPF, panel advises govt

A Parliamentary panel today asked the Central government to increase the rate of return on provident fund for its employees in the light of rising bank rates and EPFO's decision to hike its rate to 9.5% for 2010-11.

"The rate of interest on General Provident Fund (GPF) which is pegged at 8% may be reviewed so that government employees are not put to any disadvantage more so now when the interest rates for bank deposits has also been raised," the Standing Committee on Finance suggested in its report.

If the suggests of the panel finds favour from the government, over 50 lakh Centre's employees will stand to benifit.

The panel headed by former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, pointed out that retirement fund body Employees Provident Fund Organiation has also increased rate of interest on PF deposits to 9.5% for 2010-11 from 8%.

The EPFO had been paying 8.5% interest on PF deposits since 2005-06. In September last year, it had recommended an increase in interest rate to 9.5% for 2010-11 after discovering Rs 1,731 crore surplus in their books of accounts.

In the present scenario, the bank rates are also increasing. Reserve Bank of India has increased its short term lending and borrowing rates by half a percentage point to 8 and 7%, respectively in its recent quarterly review unveiled on July 26.

Following the central bank's rate hike, some private and public sector have also hiked their rates.

Only planning, no action plague coastal security

Navy and Coast Guard failed to detect the 1,000-tonne MT Pavit

The cabinet committee on security created after the 26/11 terror attacks had several measures planned for the state and central agencies to ensure there is no lapse in sea security.

Though some of these measures have been initiated and also put into practice, many of the important ones are yet to be implemented.

In Maharashtra, which has a long coastline and has been one of the biggest victims of terror attacks launched through sea, identification of several unmanned landing points is to be carried out, but a complete report is still awaited. Creating chowkies manned by policemen at all these landing points was to be done, which is yet to be initiated except at a few places in the state.

Another major proposal was to give transponders and navigational communication systems to fishermen for identification of their vessels, but is yet to be carried out. Though identity cards have been issued to fishermen, in terms of technological advancement and measures for sea security and identification, the government is yet to initiate any action. Also, employment of more trained personnel for the marine wing of the police is yet to be carried out, and the cops in the wing are sent for a brief training session to Indian Navy personnel and then are entitled with the responsibility of carrying out activities like sea patrolling which they do not have any earlier experience of.

The procurement of more offshore patrol crafts and interceptor crafts is yet to be done, and the many procured from foreign countries are out of use as they have suffered damages which can be repaired only by the experts from those countries.

“There are several departments which are involved in the coastal security programme, and it takes time for procurement and get new advancements into technology into place and start its use,” said a senior police officer.

Another major plan initiated by the government of India was installation of radar sensors on lighthouses across the coastline. The radar sensors would record real-time videos using high resolution cameras and send it to the local command center at Coast Guard regional centers or bases. The project was supposed to be completed by April this year.

Recently, Coast Guard officials distributed Distress Alert Transmitterssets to fishermen in Dahanu and Mumbai, but it has yet not been declared when the project will be expanded across the state.

The Union government was scrambling for cover on Wednesday over the way the abandoned Panama-flagged MT Pavit drifted to the Mumbai shore without being detected, making a mockery of its much-touted revamp of the coastal security architecture after the 26/11 terror strikes.

Sources said defence minister A K Antony directed both the Navy and Coast Guard to investigate the incident and submit "detailed reports" at the earliest, even as cabinet secretary Ajit K Seth also raised the matter with the agencies concerned.

Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, in turn, asked the Western Navy Command chief, Vice-Admiral D K Joshi, for "a detailed analysis". But all this could not detract from the fact that MT Pavit, despite being unmanned, has punched holes in the country's coastal security, much like the Lashkar jehadis had done to unleash the carnage during 26/11.

The "seriousness of the security breach'' has forced Antony to call a comprehensive coastal security review next week. Incidentally, the parliamentary standing committee on defence, in a report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, stressed the need for "creating a fool-proof coastal surveillance network".

As earlier the government had announced many grandiose schemes in the bloody aftermath of 26/11 but the fact remains that the new coastal security architecture is yet to fully materialize on the ground even three years later.

The Navy, the Coast Guard and the marine police, who are supposed to constitute a three-tier coastal security ring, all failed to detect the 1,000-tonne MT Pavt.

Among the important measures announced but yet to get operational is Phase-I of the critical coastal surveillance network under a Rs 350-crore project. This includes 46 stations - complete with coastal radars, cameras, AIS (automatic identification systems) and other sensors mounted atop old lighthouses to dynamically locate and track vessels. Phase-II, with 56 additional stations, will kick off only thereafter.

This is the second time in two months that an adrift ship has grounded in Mumbai. In June the much bigger MV Wisdom beached, narrowly missing the Bandra-Worli Sealink. But that was at least detected.